Don't underestimate Australia's soft power and digital diplomacy

‘Soft power’ and digital diplomacy are changing international relations

By Katie Harbath and Jonathan McClory

October 8, 2015 — 10.22pm

Technology allows governments and citizens to communicate faster and more effectively. In the age of "digital diplomacy", the ability to harness tech platforms effectively to deliver key messages is more important than ever. As the rules of global power are being rewritten, power is shifting from the old elites to the citizens at large. Which means communications must take place on a much larger scale. In addition, the challenges today's governments now face are rarely constrained by national borders. Thus it is essential for both government and citizens to build coalitions and foster co-operation to overcome national borders so that they can win hearts and minds, influence debates and effect change.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop speaks during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in September.Credit:AP

But a new international report has ranked Australia as one of the world's best "soft-power" and digital diplomacy performers. Where Cave argues that Australia lags behind not only the US and Canada but also India and Kosovo in adapting global diplomacy to the digital age, The Soft Power 30 report finds that Australia ranks sixth for "soft power" globally behind only Britain, Germany, the US, France and Canada. For "digital diplomacy", Australia ranks fifth behind the US, Britain, France and Israel.

To better understand the concept of "soft power", the report argues that in this more complex and interdependent world, traditional hard power – the use of force and economic might – is no longer enough to drive change for the better. It must be coupled with soft power. The ability to make friends, create partnerships, forge networks, foster collaboration, to attract and persuade is now essential for countries and governments to overcome challenges and make the most of opportunities.

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Soft power strategies eschew the traditional foreign policy tools of the carrot and stick, working instead to persuade by using networks, developing and communicating compelling narratives, establishing international norms, building coalitions, and drawing on the key resources that endear one country to another. In simple terms, 'hard power is push; soft power is pull'. And obviously digital diplomacy is a key component of "soft power" success.

The report , compiled by Facebook, Portland Communications, and research consultancy Comres used 66 different metrics to measure soft power, looking at categories such as government, culture, education, global engagement and enterprise to gauge relative standings. Joe Nye, who first coined the phrase "soft power" more than 20 years ago, described the study as "the clearest picture yet of global soft power".

When finding that Australia ranks sixth globally in terms of its soft power resources, no other country in the southern hemisphere came in the top 10. Only Japan, which ranked eighth overall, came from outside Europe and North America.

What is particularly interesting, given the recent criticism of Australia's digital capabilities, was that for the first time the study included a specific analysis developed with Facebook, of the reach of digital diplomacy. It is a recognition that the ability to reach and influence the wider public through digital channels is a critical element of a nation's overall soft power.

Using completely anonymised data sourced from Facebook's data science team, the study was able to examine how effectively governments interacted on line with citizens outside their country. Using this data, the research team found that Australia was ranked fifth in the category of digital diplomacy – its joint highest score along with the culture category.

Looking specifically at Australia's digital diplomacy outreach, the study found that in the metrics we used to measure global digital outreach, Australia was, on average, in the 80th percentile. It goes without saying there is room for improvement, but Australia's digital diplomacy capabilities are much nearer the top of the global league table than the bottom. Suggesting more teeth than gum.

Of course, no study is perfect, and even Australia's high overall ranking does not mean there is room for complacency. Digital diplomacy remains very much in its infancy. The power to reach across borders and engage directly with millions more people than ever before is still under-used – not just by Australia, but by all nations. However, there is little evidence from our research that Australia's digital performance lacks teeth. Perhaps encouragement to do better, including in the use of emoji-plomacy, rather than arguably unfounded criticism would coax further improvements in national digital diplomacy.

Katie Harbath is global politics and government outreach manager at Facebook in Washington.

Jonathan McClory is a partner at Portland in London and author of The Soft Power 30 Report.